Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Still ranting...

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."~Douglas AdamsI can't help seeing the sort of mad, but incisive clarity of this quote. I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Adams. So what should I rant about today, hmm?a. Ever wonder what the male equivalent of a 'tomboy' is? By extension, it's quite all right and indeed, quite desirable for a girl to go around proclaiming she's a tomboy (a term I always loathed.) The way it works is, women are somehow "better" if they are good at supposedly "male" skills; could be anything from climbing trees to knowing volumes about spark plugs.Eh?b. The 2-page spreads selling fairness creams. The product promises to whiten and brighten your skin, thus presumably making you more beautiful. In one campaign, the model is an internationally renowned star: her picture in the spread has been worked on to such an extent that even the piercings in her ears are obliterated. What's up with that? In spite of the wondrous fairness cream which will bleach her into perfection, she still needs the airbrushing?I mean, come on. Besides, realistically speaking, just how much air-brushing can we ordinary mortals squeeze into our daily lives, assuming we even use your blessed brightening cream?Fairness creams are pathetic, especially so when they're sold by 'women's magazines' who devote pages to breathlessly advising you on 'self-esteem' and 'inner beauty.'c. Your single status if you're young and in India. Your parents are directly or indirectly blamed for not 'finding' you anyone to marry. And people actually pray for your singlehood to change into marital er..bliss. Thanks, y'all, but it's not a disease! Besides, don't I just love the way people describe marriage as COMPROMISE (their emphasis). Gee, that sounds like so much fun! I just can't wait to start COMPROMISING!d. The thing that mystifies me: At a few places in Bangalore I've seen these little structures with the helpful legend "Cobbler Kiosk" painted on them. Er, but where are the cobblers? I've yet to see a single one sitting dutifully in his designated kiosk. Reminds me of that fairy tale where the elves helped out an old shoemaker couple, but the elves only came out at night, so no one actually saw them. Maybe our desi cobblers are in the same mold.

8 comments:

Well I do agree with your opinion about Fairness cream ads.As far as "In the begining...."Mr Douglas Adam has his opinion which might be true for him but not necessarily be the TRUTH.Marriage is definitely not a COMPROMISE....then again that is an opinion.As far as my opinion on the topic of marriage...I guess will have to write a blog;-)Keep it coming!!!

Being born pigment rich and with a fairer sibling can be traumatic. Even for a Dravidian male. You are immediately told that road to redemption lies in gathering the remaining two traits to salvation: being tall & handsome. Hmmm. Perhaps not exactly fairness creams for us then ladies, but a road no less easy :-)

Michael’s crazy literary journey currently awaits release on the 70mm screen. Wonder how much they have been able to squeeze in… With the notable exception of GF II, books tower above their rather banal celluloid makeovers, often than not leading to one having a deep & immediate need to personally decapitate the director; e.g. Irobot.

While one may submit that the ‘tomboy’ is indeed politically incorrect in this ‘aware’ world, I still try to imagine the sartorial inclinations of Reginald (of good old Saki fame) and wonder if have any reason indeed to coo over the metrosexual man of this day, manicured hands included.

While actually looking at the correct antonym for the word, I came across this:"Sissy boy: a vernacular term applied to a boy whose developmental differentiation of gender-identity /role is in variable degree discordant with the evidence of his genital morphology." Thanks Shane. Of course the other word is ‘effeminate’.

I am not sure if that were the case D. Personally this that some books are indeed written for the script. The most bizarre interpretation being the televised series of Batman where the words ‘Baam’ & ‘Kapow’ were actually shown on screen. Am sure you remember that too Col.

Devida - you make my day with your litany of rants. spark plugs :) !!Is the internationally renouned star the Big Ash? She doesn't need airbrushing to look stunning. I would be buying the stuff in a jiffy if it altered bone structure :)

listen, I recently found out that at least for me - marrige is not about compromising - at the risk of getting pelted with shoes, I want to say I have found the right person, well, at least for the time being :)

While I am a staunch opposer in principle of arranged marriges, i also feel there is no benefit in over intellectualizing marriges and waiting for ever for the right person - if you are confident that you can as easily get out of the marrige if things go wrong, then one should go ahead and tie the knot atleast once :) Enjoy the married life - for its definitely nice in-law baggage is minus from both sides :)

Also, check this site out for rants:http://www.daveschultz.com/maniacal/